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NEW YORK – The Boston Red Sox have remembered forward Sandy Leon and designated forward Blake Swihart, making Swihart the first casualty of his lineup in the midst of the team's hard times. beginning of season.
Leon, who spent the first weeks of the 2019 season in Triple-A, will be behind and will remain eighth when the Red Sox will face the rival Yankees in New York on Tuesday with Chris Sale on the mound.
The Red Sox have a 6-11 start, tied for last place in the American League East, and their runners have the worst baseball history at 7.18.
Leon has spent much of 2018 as Sale's personal receiver, and many Red Sox pitcher personnel speak eloquently about his ability to follow a match. In 2018, he led the majors with an average of 3.29 attack points in 89 games.
"We know his strengths, including the management of pitcher personnel, who brings a lot of intangible assets to the club in the same way as the staff," said baseball president Dave Dombrowski before Tuesday's game.
"It's a decision that we've decided to take at this point, I'm not saying it's the only reason we've struggled, but it will help us if you have a club that is struggling a lot in different areas, and we are, as clubs often do, trying to fix small things at once. "
When asked if the Red Sox had underestimated Leon's value for pitching staff, Dombrowski disagreed.
"I do not think we've underestimated it, we should not put that on Blake because our guys did not do very well," Dombrowski said. "It was a combination of factors, and we thought it was a good time to bring in a veteran receiver who could handle a veteran presentation staff, which we are excited to see."
Leon says he's been working on simplifying his Triple-A momentum.
"I'm just trying to regain my momentum and not hit too hard," Leon said. "I know I can not hit 30 homers, but I have to do a better job than last year.
Cora told Leon before the match that he did not need the catcher to be Superman and solve everyone's problems.
"I told Sandy, do not feel obligated to come here and be the savior." It does not work like that, "said Cora. "There is a level of comfort, we know what he's done in recent years, nothing against Blake, of course, you know how we feel about him too." these baseball decisions. "
Swihart, who was once the main hope in the Red Sox farming system and a first-round pick in 2011, has had injury problems since his debut in the major league in 2015.
Engaged as catcher, Swihart made his entry on the list of injured in 2016 after spraining his left ankle during a collision with the wall along the foul line of the left field while he was injured. he was playing at the outdoor field at Fenway Park. Swihart also spent a lot of time in 2018 on breastfeeding, caring for a tense hamstring.
Swihart spent the first two months of the 2018 season as the 25th Red Sox player, with no option for the minor leagues.
In an effort to create more playing time, Swihart added both the inside and outside field to his defensive arsenal, but received 30 batters in the first 50 games of the season. The 27-year-old finished the year with a .229 / .285 / .328 average with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 82 games.
In 203 games with the Red Sox, Swihart hit 0.255, 0.314 / 0.364 with nine homers and 58 RBIs, racking up 0.3 WARs.
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